ABC News suspends reporter caught in Project Veritas ‘sting’

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC News has suspended political reporter David Wright after he was recorded in a barroom conversation calling President Donald Trump a “nightmare spouse that you can’t win an argument with.”

Wright also used a common vulgarity to describe why he didn’t like the president in a conversation recorded by Project Veritas, the conservative website that uses hidden cameras and undercover reporters to ensnare journalists in embarrassing conversations.

Months ago, Project Veritas released a tape of ABC’s Amy Robach complaining on set about her bosses not using a report that she had done on Jeffrey Epstein.

Wright and an ABC producer, Andy Fies, were recorded in a bar at the Doubletree Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire, while covering that state’s primary. Wright talked about the frustrations of covering Trump and said the press was “easily distracted and that means we don’t bring focused attention to something that could make a difference.”

Wright said voters are poorly informed by the media and that his bosses “don’t see an upside in doing the job we’re supposed to do, which is to speak truth to power and hold people to account.”

He described himself politically as a socialist who believes in national health insurance.

ABC News would not say how long Wright would be suspended. He will be reassigned from political coverage when he returns to avoid any possible appearance of bias.

“Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved,” the network said in a statement.

The network announced no action against Fies, who was recorded in the conversation saying that people in New York don’t understand why others in the country support Trump.

___

This story corrects the name of ABC correspondent Amy Robach.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.